posted on Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in Central Region News
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig presented the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award to Audubon County farmer, Eric Weber, and his family at the Audubon Recreation Center.
“I want to congratulate the Weber family for receiving the Good Farm Neighbor award and thank them for being good stewards of our land and livestock,” said Secretary Naig.
JEM Investments, LLC, Eric’s custom hog finishing company, is committed to animal husbandry best practices and environmental stewardship. The company monitors air quality and barn temperature and makes sure their animals have adequate nutrition and regular checkups.
Eric also assists his father, Mike Weber, in farming corn and soybeans. The Weber family models exceptional environmental stewardship practices on their operation. They utilize no-till to improve soil health and rotate their corn and soybean acres. They oversee Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres to grow native grasses and implement terraces, filter strips and grass waterways to reduce erosion. In addition, they follow a farm manure management plan to use the hog manure as a fertilizer and regularly test soil samples to maintain nutrient levels.
The Weber family was nominated by Nick Smith, Director of Grow-Finish at AMVC Management Services. Smith noted that “Eric does a great job raising the pigs placed under his care.”
Eric stays active in the Audubon community by volunteering as a youth basketball and baseball coach. Aside from serving as a board member for Audubon County Pheasants Forever, he also regularly assists with the True Impact Outdoors program helping disabled veterans, first responders and troubled youth become involved in outdoor recreational activities.
The Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award is made possible thanks to financial support from the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers. This award recognizes Iowa livestock farmers who take pride in caring for the environment, their livestock and being good neighbors. It is named in memory of Gary Wergin, a long-time WHO Radio farm broadcaster who helped create the award.
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- swine